President Rodrigo Duterte wanted to visit the wake of former President Benigno 'Noynoy' Aquino III.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque revealed that President Duterte ended a meeting with representatives from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on Thursday, June 24, so that he can go to the wake.
"Tinigil na nga niya iyong aming discussion at 11:00 PM kasi sabi niya gusto niyang pumunta doon sa lamay ni dating Presidente Noynoy Aquino," Roque said on Monday, June 28, during a virtual press briefing.
"So, he wanted to go, but he was informed that the urn of the former President had already been moved to the private residents in Times, so hindi na po nakapunta doon si Presidente," he added.
Roque made the statement in response to queries regarding the absence of President Duterte during the wake and the burial of the late President Aquino.
Roque stressed that President Duterte considers his predecessor as a friend and that the former supported the latter during the 2010 elections.
However, the Palace official has no definite answer as to why the Chief Executive failed to appear during the inurnment of Aquino on Saturday, June 26.
Roque floated the possibility that President Duterte wanted to avoid the crowding of people amidst the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
"Hindi ko na alam kung bakit. It could be because it’s pandemic and we are trying to limit the numbers and, of course, the presence of the President would encourage crowds," Roque told reporters.
Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, and Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, members of President Duterte's Cabinet, visited the wake of Aquino at at the Church of Gesù at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City.
Aquino passed away on Thursday, June 24, at the age of 61 years old due to renal disease secondary to diabetes.
